The present invention relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to a fitting/manifold assembly and method for a heat exchanger.
It is known in the heat exchanger art to use a fitting attached to a manifold forming part of the heat exchanger to define either an inlet, an outlet, or a jump tube connector for the manifold. Such fittings are often assembled to a manifold by first positioning the fitting relative to the manifold so that an opening in the fitting is aligned with an opening in the manifold. It is known to align the openings by providing a nipple on either the fitting or the manifold and then inserting the nipple in an opening formed in the component without the nipple. After the openings are aligned, the fitting is skived or tac-welded to the manifold to prevent relative movement therebetween. The fitting/manifold assembly then undergoes a bonding process, such as brazing, to form a sealed joint between the fitting and the manifold. While these methods of assembly may work for their intended purpose, there is always room for improvement.
For example, the set-up for the skiving and/or the tac-welding can be time-consuming, and the tac-weld can alter the material properties of the fitting and/or manifold surrounding the weld.
It is a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved fitting/manifold assembly and a method for assembling the same.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for positioning a fitting relative to a manifold of a heat exchanger. The method includes the steps of providing a manifold including a wall having an aperture therethrough; providing a fitting including a body, a nipple extending from the body and having an interior surface, and an opening extending through the body to allow access to the interior surface; inserting the nipple into the aperture from one side of the wall so that the body of the fitting is on said one side of the wall and a portion of the nipple is on the other side of the wall; deforming the interior surface of the nipple with a deforming tool inserted through said opening in said body to enlarge said portion to a shape that restricts retraction of the nipple from the aperture.
According to one aspect of the invention, the method further includes the step of brazing the fitting to the manifold.
According to another aspect of the invention, the opening has a central axis and the deforming step includes forcing the tool along the axis.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the interior surface is a nominally frustoconical surface and the deforming step includes deforming the frustoconical surface into a nominally cylindrical surface.
According to one aspect of the invention, a fitting/manifold assembly is provided for a heat exchanger. The assembly includes a manifold and a fitting. The manifold includes a wall having a thickness and a aperture extending through the thickness from an exterior of the manifold to an interior of the manifold. The aperture has a predetermined shape. The fitting includes a body and a deformable nipple extending from the body. The nipple has an exterior surface, an interior surface, and a portion extended from the body a distance greater than the thickness of the wall. The nipple is deformable from a first shape to a second shape. In the first shape the exterior surface of the nipple nominally conforms to the predetermined shape of the aperture to allow the nipple to be freely inserted into the aperture with the portion extending through the wall into the interior of the manifold. In the second shape, the portion is enlarged to retain the nipple in the aperture. The fitting further includes an opening extending through the body to allow access to the interior surface of the nipple by a deforming tool inserted through the opening to deform the nipple from the first shape to the second shape.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above summary, and the appended claims.